Chapter 2

Rei stood at the entrance of the classroom, took a deep breath, and tightly held the letter containing secrets that his mother had given him.

He had been wandering through the deep forest for over an hour since he woke up, and the sun, visible through the trees, was gradually rising higher.

(The position of the sun doesn't tell me the time, but since it's still rising, it must still be morning. I don't want to spend a night in this forest... I have to find a village or someone, no matter what...)

He thought that if he met a traveler in this state, he would be met with suspicion, and he was also worried whether they would even understand his language. However, he was more anxious about being alone in the forest.

While wandering, he pondered his current situation.

(If this isn't a dream, then I must have somehow ended up in another world like in a light novel, or I've time-traveled. I don't know how useful this equipment is, but it's almost fully armed, isn't it... If I can't communicate, I won't be trusted, and I might even be killed... Even if it's a dream, falling down hurt so much, so being killed would probably hurt even more...)

He had felt considerable pain when he tripped over a tree root and fell, confirming that this wasn't a dream.

He still lacked a sense of reality. While he thought he should be more serious, he couldn't completely rule out the possibility that this was a dream. However, he was aware of the danger and was desperately trying to figure out what to do.

He continued wandering through the forest.

He still couldn't find a village, or even a path.

The sounds around him were the rustling of trees in the wind, the chirping of birds, and occasionally, the roar of an animal.

(When I saw the tree trunk earlier, there were sharp claw marks. There must be at least bear-class animals here... I've only seen fierce beasts at the zoo when I was a child. What should I do... Besides, I'm really thirsty. Is there any water around here?)

There were small puddles, but he couldn't drink from them, so he was looking for a clean spring or stream. However, no matter which direction he walked, he couldn't find any water.

He continued walking and, when he was completely exhausted, he took a break.

He didn't realize how abnormal it was to walk through a forest with steep terrain and heavy equipment for over three hours.

In his original world, he had been weak since childhood and often missed school until he was in middle school. His parents, worried about him, never pushed him to do anything strenuous, so he rarely played outside or did sports with friends. Naturally, he was not good at physical activities and had almost never walked for long periods.

His inability to notice the changes in his body might be due to the abnormal situation, but it could also be a subconscious desire to avoid reality.

After a while, he heard multiple screams carried by the wind from a distance.

(In a different world, it's usually a traveler being attacked by bandits or monsters. What should I do? I don't want to get attacked if I get too close...)

He thought about stopping and not getting closer, but he also didn't want to wander alone in the forest. He decided to approach the source of the voices, forcing himself to find a reason.

(If I can hear people's voices, maybe I can understand their language. I'll try to get closer without being noticed. Fortunately, this armor, despite being made of metal, makes almost no sound, so I shouldn't be detected if I don't make a mistake...)

He approached cautiously.

He could hear multiple men's screams and the crude laughter of other men.

As the sounds became clearer, he could make out the words.

"Hey! Just give up already. We'll treat you nicely."

The lecherous laughter of the men was answered by a young woman's scream.

"Shut up! You're going to kill me after you rape me! I'll resist until the end rather than be toyed with!"

Peeking from behind a tree, he saw a well-trodden path with a carriage stopped on it.

Around the carriage were nearly twenty men in leather armor, and at their feet were several people in metal armor lying in pools of blood.

(I shouldn't have come here... They're definitely bandits or highwaymen. What should I do...)

His legs trembled with fear, and he couldn't move, afraid that any movement would make a sound. He had to keep an eye on the bandits to know when they might approach, so he reluctantly watched the carriage.

A young girl, around fifteen, wearing a blue dress and with blonde hair, was roughly dragged out by the bandits.

The young woman's scream echoed through the air, different from the earlier one, sounding younger and more childish.

"No! Let go! Father! Help me!"

Her desperate cries for help were answered by a man's voice, presumably her father.

"Let my daughter go, Oriana! I'll give you any amount of money. Please..."

One of the bandits lifted the girl's chin with a lecherous smile.

"Shut up! We'll have some fun with this cute girl. We won't kill her. We'll take good care of her and then sell her somewhere, so don't worry."

The girl cried out towards the carriage, and her father's pleas for mercy continued.

(Ah, there's nothing I can do... I feel like I've had this thought before. I don't want to! I don't want to leave them!...)

Rei was tormented by a sense of helplessness and watched the scene with a growing sense of unease.

However, as he watched, he realized there were other memories within his own.

His eyes gradually lost their emotion, and the bandits' forms changed into those of ugly monsters. The girl being dragged out transformed into the faces of people he had once loved.

His consciousness went blank, and his memory ended there.

"!"

Unconsciously, he raised his spear and began a fierce charge at the bandits.

In his left hand, a dazzling spear of light—a white rod about 1.5 meters long and 3 centimeters thick—appeared, and when he swung it, it pierced the chest of the man dragging the girl.

The man, caught off guard by the sudden attack, let out a gurgling scream and died.

The bandits were shocked by the sudden attacker and were momentarily disoriented, but they quickly regained their composure since there was only one of him.

"What? Who are you! Doesn't matter, kill him!"

A large man, presumably the leader, ordered his subordinates.

The subordinates, wary of the silver knight who had created a magical spear, moved to surround him.

Two archers among the bandits fired arrows at him.

The arrows flew straight towards his chest, but he knocked them away with his right spear and, in return, created magical arrows in his left hand and fired them at the archers.

The magical arrows pierced the throats of the archers, severing their heads and embedding themselves in the trees behind.

"Don't let him use magic! Surround and cut him down!"

The bandit leader ordered his subordinates to surround and cut down the knight, and they rushed towards him.

In an instant, a circle of bandits surrounded him.

He held his spear with both hands and swung it in a sweeping motion, attacking the bandits.

The tip of the spear glowed orange, indicating some hidden power.

The leather armor of the bandits was no match for the spear, and the unfortunate bandits within its range had their necks and arms sliced open, their chests pierced, and were killed one after another.

"No, it's impossible! He's a monster! Ahhhh!"

The bandits lost their will to fight and began to retreat, but he darted through them like lightning, leaving a trail of blood.

The leader, realizing that a direct confrontation was futile, said,

"Is it okay to kill these people? Drop your weapons!" and pointed his sword at the girl and her father, a middle-aged man in splendid clothing.

However, Rei, seemingly ignoring the sword, created a disc of light—about 50 centimeters in diameter and thin—and threw it at the leader.

The leader, surprised by the action, couldn't avoid it and was sliced in half. His face was frozen in shock.

With the leader dead, the bandits panicked and began to flee.

He pursued the fleeing bandits, killing them one by one with magic and his spear.

When the bandits were all eliminated, his body was drenched in fresh blood, and his white equipment was dyed deep red.

He whispered, "Captain... everyone... I did it this time... this time..." and then collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

---

Ashley Markett, clad in metal armor and wielding a large two-handed sword, is a relatively famous female mercenary in the area.

Her father, Hamish Markett, led a relatively well-known mercenary group in the Lux Kingdom, and she had learned swordsmanship and other martial arts from a young age, fighting alongside her father as a mercenary for seven years starting at the age of fifteen.

About a year ago, she left her father's mercenary group and began working as a solo mercenary and adventurer. She had been hired to guard the daughter of Baron Atley on his journey to the capital of Sartus Kingdom, Raulus.

The journey to Raulus was completely peaceful, and the return trip was also smooth until the baron's knights were struck by an unknown illness two days ago, reducing their number to just five. Concerned about the small number of knights, they hired ten more mercenaries in a town along the way and were almost back to the baron's territory.

This area is deep in the forest, and monsters sometimes appear, but a carriage guarded by a dozen or so guards should have been able to pass through safely.

However, this logic only holds if the mercenaries don't betray them, and this time, the hired mercenaries became the greatest enemy.

Normally, mercenaries hired through the Mercenary Guild would not betray a guard mission. If they did, the Guild would send bounty hunters after them.

Because of this, the baron and the guards were not on their guard.

The mercenaries, who had been hired to betray them, waited until they entered the forest and there were no passersby before leading the bandits to attack.

By the time Ashley noticed, the guards had been caught off guard by the mercenaries and were either killed or severely injured.

Seeing this, the bandits emerged from the forest and dragged the baron and his family out of the carriage.

Ashley, recognizing the lecherous bandit leader, refused to surrender, knowing she would be raped and killed.

The bandits, aware that resisting a skilled swordsman like her would result in casualties, were hesitant to approach her.

Just as they were about to rape the baron's daughter, Oriana, a silver-armored knight attacked the bandits from behind.

At first, Ashley was relieved to see a rescuer, but her hope turned to despair when she realized he was alone and had no plan.

(What a waste... I don't know how confident he is, but to charge in without a plan against such overwhelming odds...)

However, she was shocked when she saw the knight wrap his left hand in a magical light.

(Could this be the rumored Saint Knight of Lux? They say a single Saint Knight can take on a thousand men. Is he really that skilled?)

The answer came quickly.

The knight threw a spear of light, and two bandits fell instantly.

When they tried to surround and kill him, the spear in his right hand began to glow orange, indicating the flow of magic.

Each time he swung the spear, bandits were sliced and killed. The leather armor of the bandits was no match for the spear's sharpness.

(What is that spear? Or is it the knight's skill? He looks like a hero from a myth...)

Clad in shining silver armor and wielding a glowing spear, he looked like a warrior of the gods.

(If this is a Saint Knight, the fanatics of the Light God's Church might be right when they say the messengers of the Light God are invincible...)

Each time the knight swung his spear, more bandits died. The bandits' morale plummeted, and even those near her became hesitant.

Ashley, captivated by the scene, saw an opportunity and killed the bandit in front of her, trying to reach the baron and his family.

At that moment, the bandit leader took the baron and his family hostage, trying to make the knight drop his weapons.

(Damn! I'm too late. How will the knight react... If he's a Saint Knight, he'll probably drop his weapons...)

She expected the knight to drop his weapons, but he surprised her by casting another spell.

This time, it was a disc of light, which he threw at the leader.

In an instant, the leader's body was sliced in half by the disc.

(He didn't hesitate. Was he trying to save us?)

Ashley was puzzled by the knight's actions but decided to focus on defeating the bandits in front of her.

(If that knight attacks us, there's no way to defend. Since he's not attacking us, he's probably on our side for now...)

The silver knight, now dyed deep red with the bandits' blood, continued to kill the fleeing bandits without changing his expression.

The baron, frozen in shock and fear, watched the scene. Fortunately, his daughter had fainted and didn't witness the gruesome sight, which might have traumatized her.

It had been less than ten minutes since the knight appeared, but in that short time, all the bandits were eliminated.

He then whispered something and collapsed face down.

Ashley, still on guard, observed the knight and decided to ask her employer, the baron, what to do with him.

"What should we do with that knight? To be honest, I don't want to get too close..."

The baron, still shaken, quickly regained his composure upon hearing her words.

"He's our savior. We don't know his identity, but we can't leave him here. Besides, we still have half a day's journey to Morten. It would be reassuring to have him guard us."

Ashley nodded but was still hesitant. She thought it might be safer to leave in the carriage, but since she had no reason to disobey her employer, she reluctantly approached the knight.